1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to graphical user interfaces, and more particularly to graphical user interfaces for display of hierarchical information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cloud computing, search engine, video surveillance and multimedia systems typically make use of systems that are capable of storing large amounts of data in a reliable manner, typically through the use of a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) array that combines multiple RAID disks into logical units (“LUNs”) for file storage. Through the use of LUNS, user data may be divided and distributed across multiple RAID drives and addressed by a network-attached storage (“NAS”) server attached to the RAID array by means of block level interfaces such as Fibre Channel (“FC”) or the Internet Small Computer System Interface (“iSCSI”) for high data throughput. The NAS server is in turn connected to a computer network through powerful network “pipes” that may provide file-based data access to the RAID array to hundreds or even thousands of users over the network.
Unfortunately, the RAID drives and NAS server in a particular integrated system may be manufactured by different companies and so are typically difficult to set up for operation. The RAID drives may have a management interface to configure its operation with the NAS server, and the NAS server may have a management interface to configure it for operation with the network and RAID drives. Some system integrators provide a single management interface to set up the NAS server and RAID array with their product, but a need still exists to present users with an improved management interface in order to provide users with a simple yet powerful set-up for the NAS server and RAID array.